Can't fight the moonlight
by majobloem
Summary: What happens when Emma gets moonstruck and goes totally loose? One-shot on Emmash, inspired by the film "Coyote Ugly"


The story is inspired by the film _Coyote Ugly._ It has some _Emmash_ in it. The story is set during season 2 when Ash is already supervisor at the JuiceNet Café, but doesn't know yet that Emma is a mermaid. Lewis and Charlotte are also together.

"Ash, please. You know I love my job, but I can't work tonight." Emma begged to Ash.  
"You know I don't have a choice. Half of the staff is sick. Only Amber can come tonight, and she doesn't work here long enough to keep the place running on her own. I really need you to be here tonight, Emma." Ash explained. "And I think it would be best for you too to show up tonight."  
"What do you mean with that? You're not gonna fire me, are you?" Emma shocked when she heard this.  
"Maybe I will. I need employees who I can trust, who I can rely on when I'm in need, especially then."  
"Listen, Ash. I'll come working the next two weeks every day; I'll work double shifts if I have to. But get me of duty tonight. Please, don't fire me. I really need this job."  
"Then why can't you come tonight?" Ash asked.  
"Hi, Em. Ready for our sleepover tonight?" Rikki and Cleo entered the café and had just interrupted the conversation between the two almost-lovers.  
Ash turned his head when he heard this. "What?" he asked. "You're standing me up for some girls-night-sleepover?"  
"Ash, calm down. It's not what you think." Emma tried to calm the boy down.  
"You know what Emma, if you don't come tonight, you don't have to come anymore." Ash breezed and ran to a costumer to take an order.  
"Rikki, did you really have to ask that in front of Ash? He just asked me to come to work tonight. Now he thinks this job isn't important to me and wants to fire me." Emma turned all red, she was furious.  
"What. Now you're gonna say this is all my fault?" Rikki reacted insulted.  
"Girls, quiet! Em, you can't work tonight, it's a full moon. We really can't go outside, you know that." Cleo said, trying to calm her friends down.  
"I know that, Cleo. It's Ash that doesn't know." Emma said.  
"Then tell him." Rikki suggested.  
"What? Tell him that I am half-fish and turn into a lunatic with a full moon?"  
"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean." Rikki smiled.  
Ash returned to the bar. "So Emma, your shift for now is over. I hope I see you tonight, at 8."  
Emma turned around and ran outside the café, wandering what she had to do.

The girls went to Emma's house. They had the house to their selves since Emma's parents were to the anniversary-party of Lisa's cousin and Elliott was staying with one of his friend. They taped off all of the windows and installed Rikki's and Cleo's sleeping bags.  
Rikki was busy making popcorn when the doorbell rang. Emma went to open the door, hoping it would be Ash. After opening the door she stepped disappointed aside to let Lewis enter. "Hi Emma." he said enthusiastic while going to the living room. "Well, hi Lewis." Emma answered sarcastically while shutting the door.  
Rikki couldn't leave it of making a joke when she saw Lewis. "Well well, look who arrives after all the work is done?"  
"Hi to you too, Rikki." Lewis answered still smiling.  
"Don't you have anything better to do instead of babysitting on us?"  
"Like what?"  
"I don't know, maybe babysitting Charlotte."  
"No, I don't. Charlotte's out of town for the weekend with her mother." Lewis answered, naively.  
Both Rikki and Emma started laughing. _So he's just here because his girlfriend went out without him_, they both thought.  
Cleo came downstairs and felt happy when she saw her ex-boyfriend. "Hello Lewis" She said, followed by her biggest smile she had.

Emma had just gone upstairs and Lewis, Rikki and Cleo were sitting on the couch when Lewis' watch beeped. He looked from his watch to the Rikki and Cleo and spoke. "It's 7.36. The moon has just came up."  
"Stop acting so worried, Lewis. You are freaking me out! The entire house is made moonlight-free." Rikki replied. She headed over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Em, don't you have anything decent to eat?" she yelled to her friend upstairs. There was no answer. "Em?" Rikki yelled again. She ran up and came down a minute later. "Lewis, Cleo, have you seen Emma? She isn't upstairs"  
They both shook their head, realizing Emma probably went outside.

Emma entered the JuiceNet. She smiled to Ash when she saw him, mixing a juice behind the bar. "Hello Ash. Need any help" she asked him.  
"Emma? You came after all." Ash noticed nicely surprised.  
"Of course, I came. I'm gonna get changed and help you right away."  
Emma started working like a freak: running around from one table to another, bus with 3 orders in once,… Ash was surprised by her activity, but mostly he was surprised her work was done perfectly. Obviously Emma's work was always very good, but this time even Ash was surprised from everything she got done in a short time.  
After half an hour, Ash took Emma to the salvage room. He started talking. "Emma, I want to get something straight. I'm sorry about what I said this afternoon. I never was going to fire you, so if you really want to go to your girls-night with Rikki and Cleo, you can go. I understand."  
"No, it's okay. I'll stay. I really love my job and I absolutely don't want to disappoint you. I actually have a great idea to elevate the turnover tonight. So, let's gonna sell some juice!" Emma ran back to the bar and turned on some very loud music.

In the meantime, Rikki and Cleo had faced the moon and were swimming to Mako to look for Emma. Lewis stayed at Emma's just in case if Emma should come back home (even though they knew this was only a small chance). When Rikki and Cleo entered the Moon Pool, they saw nobody. "Where can she be?" Cleo asked.  
"I don't know. Maybe…" Rikki thought for a second. "No, never mind, she probably wouldn't."  
"She probably wouldn't what, Rikki? When you're moonstruck everything's possible, so say it." Cleo was desperate. How had it even been possible for Emma to see the moon, and how had it been possible that they hadn't noticed earlier she was gone? Cleo felt guilt.  
"Maybe she went to Ash, to the JuiceNet Café?" Rikki suggested.  
"It's worth a try. Come on, let's go back." Cleo said.

When they were back at Emma's house, they found Lewis walking around nervously. "Found her?" he asked, when he saw his two friends.  
"No, but maybe she's at the JuiceNet. Ash had menaced he'd fire her if she didn't come working tonight."  
"Then what are we still doing here?" Lewis asked. They all jumped into his boat and went to the café.

"What the hell is doing on here?" Cleo asked when they entered the JuiceNet.  
"Wow, is that girl standing on the counter Emma?" Rikki asked.  
"Well, I wouldn't call it standing." Cleo stuttered, totally overwhelmed by what she saw. "It seems more like what they do in _Dirty Dancing_."  
What they saw was Emma, half naked, dancing on the counter with some guy they didn't know. _And probably Emma doesn't know this guy either_, Rikki thought. "Hey Ash." Rikki yelled when she recognized the boy who was sitting alone at a table, while all the other boys were standing around Emma.  
Ash looked up and smiled. "Before you're mad at me, she climbed up the bar herself. I hadn't anything to do with it. I've tried to get her off of there, but she didn't want to."  
"We know Ash, that this isn't your doing. I think… Euhm… Emma wanted to make up with you for the fight you had earlier today." Lewis said.  
"I think now that she now wants to make OUT with THAT guy." Rikki said ironically, pointing at the guy Emma's dancing with.  
"We really have to get her off there." Cleo spoke.  
"Leave that to me!" Rikki reacted and walked confident towards the CD-player. She turned it off and started yelling. "Everyone out. Show is over. There is nothing to see here!"  
There was a buzz amongst the crowd. "Hey you, get out of the way and let Emma dance!" one shouted.  
"No way. Everybody out, right now. We're closing!" Ash supported Rikki.  
While the crowd started leaving, Emma came down. "Why did you do that for? I was just having a good time."  
"Whatever. Now you're going home with us, Emma." Rikki said why she took Emma's arm and pulled her outside. Emma refused but after a little of pulling and pushing between the two blondes Emma gave in and went home under the stern surveillance of Rikki.  
Lewis and Cleo followed them, leaving Ash behind all alone.

Once they were home they all turned in.

Emma woke up and went downstairs. There she found Lewis sleeping on the bench. _What is Lewis doing here_? She wandered_. Oh right, it was a full moon and he came over to help. And… oh no, that's the last thing I can remember of last night. That means I got moonstruck. Again._  
"Good morning, my dancing queen." Rikki walked down the stairs.  
"Stop it Rikki, This isn't funny. I have absolutely no clue of what I did last night. Did you and Cleo also get moonstruck?"  
"No. And are you sure you do wanna have a clue of what happened last night?" Rikki smiled.  
"Oh no, was I that bad?"  
"I'd say you were actually pretty good, my dancing queen. But if I told you what you've done, you'll probably wanna stay inside for the next 20 years or so."  
Emma was appalled when she heard the whole story.

"Ash, can we talk for a minute?" Emma asked embarrassed when she went to the café later that day.  
"If it's about last night, just forget it, okay." Ash mumbled.  
"I wasn't really me last night and I…" Emma started explaining.  
"Listen, Emma. You don't have to explain why you did that last night. Lewis already did. If you're not okay about a little fight we have, just tell me. You don't have to make a show to make it up. And I'm the one who should make it up, I'm the one who wanted to fire you."  
"It's okay, Ash. We're okay." Emma said. She held Ash and gave him a kiss. "Then I guess I'll go change and start working."  
"Oh wait, who says you're still working here after your little performance of yesterday?" Ash asked.  
"What, but I just thought that we…"  
"I'm kidding." Ash said quickly. They both laughed and Emma went to the back to change.


End file.
